Author: travel67

Mac Pro Graphics Card Upgrade – ATI Radeon HD 5770

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This blog post has a geek rating of 5. It has explicit descriptions of computer parts and even the cultural references are aimed at those who believe anoraks are not just for rainy days. After replacing the “panic locked” SSD drive  and restoring the system from Time Machine, my Mac Pro computer was working once again. On Facebook I happily stated that computer, printer and Photoshop were all in sync and I could get back to work. Then a few hours later there was a glitch in the matrix. Turning off the computer and turning it back on again didn’t help. My Nerd Herd friends Robert, Nate and Pietro were out of Okinawa so I’d have to work things out myself. After a bit of research, I came to the conclusion it must be an issue with the graphics card. The issue being it was no more. It had ceased to be. It had expired and gone to meet its maker. My Mac Pro is a 2007 model 1,1 with a nVidia GeForce 7300GT graphics card with 256 …

Kabuki-cho, Tokyo’s Red-Light District

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Kabuki-cho is Tokyo’s entertainment and red-light district. It is located on the east side of Shinjuku Station, it is literally on the other side of the railroad tracks from the government buildings and corporate offices of West Shinjuku. Kabuki-cho is filled with bars, restaurants, and the infamous host and hostess clubs. Some of the establishments are run or controlled by the Yakuza and there are numerous stories of people having a couple of drinks in a bar and then being given an unexpectedly large bill. Signs for different clubs fill the streets with the pictures of various hosts and hostesses on display. There are also a surprisingly large number of florists. It turns out that customers often buy roses for their favorite host / hostess along with huge floral displays for birthday parties and the opening of a new club. Other stores provide customers with gifts that are cringeworthy. Although, if you like crocodile skin and things encrusted with fake diamonds, you’d be in retail heaven. Some establishments have signs saying JAPANESE ONLY. Large guys …

Data Asset Management

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Veteran motorbike riders are well aware of the fact that it’s not a matter of if you have an accident, but when. For this reason it’s worth investing in the best protective gear possible. Experienced computer users will likewise tell you that it’s not a matter of if your hard disk drive will fail, but when. And it’s not just hard drives, almost any kind of digital data storage device can become unreadable. This includes CDRs, DVDRs, Blu-rays, Solid State Drives and even the optimistically named Secure Digital (S.D.) cards. People treasure their pictures. As the forest fire approaches or flood waters rise,  it’s wedding albums and family photographs that are saved not plasma televisions and golf clubs. Unfortunately, in this digital era, many people have their images stored on a home computer and when it dies, they’ve lost months or years worth of memories. Data recovery services are an option, and I know of several photographers who have paid thousands of dollars in fees to companies that were able to get back a portion …

Birds of Japan – Updated

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Here’s a quick update to a previous blog post on field guides to Japanese birds. Along with the two books previously mentioned, is a new volume by Mark Brazil (who turns out to be a friend of a friend). A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan and North-East Asia by Tadao Shimba. Colour photography throughout , covers over 600 species with a brief description of each bird including its geographic range. The photographs range in quality but still give you a good idea of what the birds look like. One problem I  noticed is that the book has the English and scientific names of the bird, but not the common Japanese name. If you  buy this book and plan to use it while in Japan (which would be most people I imagine)  having the Japanese name would allow you to ask locals what a bird was or confirm your guess. Until the photographic guide came out the standard book (in English) of Japanese birds was A Field Guide to the Birds of Japan by …

Yayoi Kusama designs for Louis Vuitton

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A couple of years back, luxury Italian clothing / accessory brand Louis Vuitton teamed up with Japanese  artist Takashi Murakami to bring some color and youthfulness to their line. This year Louis Vuitton are once again emboldening their somewhat staid image with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Why is this big news? Because in urban Japan, Louis Vuitton bags seem to be almost standard equipment for hundreds of thousands of office ladies. Once they have graduated college and gained a company job, the acquisition of a LV emblazoned bag appears almost mandatory. Perhaps these brightly colored special editions are for the ladies who want to show their individuality and break free from the ubiquitous brown on brown bags carried by the huddled masses. Of course, there are the  brave few who will push the boundaries of convention even further, and not buy one at all.

HD PENTAX-D FA645 MACRO 90mmF2.8ED AW S

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While I was at the Pentax Forum for my exhibition I got to have a brief play with the new 90mm lens that will be released at the end of this year. It’s a large, heavy lens but doesn’t unbalance the similarly gargantuan 645D body. What I realized was that with its image stabilizer it would be the perfect lens for the kind of travel portraits I love to do. I have therefore made the decision to order one of the 90mm lenses. Before the new lens arrives it’s time to create some space in the dry cabinet and make the bank balance a little healthier. For this reason I’ll be selling a few of the lenses I’ve been using infrequently over the last couple of years. They’ll go in Ebay in December, but if Pentaxians want to make offers before then just send me a message. PENTAX SMC M*67 400mm F4ED[IF] with 1.4 converter (grey) and drop in polarizing filter PENTAX SMC 67 165mm F2.8 SMC Pentax 67 100mm F4 Macro inc. 1:1 converter. Pentax …

Testing for Toxins

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Testing to see what dangerous chemicals are present in my workplace. It turns out that my studio is free of anything lethal, which is a good thing, because while Jovi was wearing full MOPP gear, I was chilling out in a t-shirt and shorts. On a more serious note, particularly just after Remberance Day in the U.K. and Veteran’s Day in the U.S., for some people the threat of sickness or death from chemical and biological weapons is a very real concern. Hopefully, one day, humanity will have progressed and the danger of these horrific armaments will no longer exist. To those who, for the protection of others, face this threat on a daily basis, thank you.

A Photographer’s Christmas Wish List – Polarizers

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Polarizing Filters are a great accessory for photographers. Some may argue that UV filters are a waste of money, and that colored filters are obsolete in the age of Photoshop, but polarized filters are still a fantastic tool particularly for landscape photography. A polarizing filter will give you saturated blue skies and bright white clouds, verdant vegetation, and  remove reflections from water. Before you rush out and buy one for you or your loved one, here are some things you need to be aware of: Buy the same diameter filter as the lens you’ll be using the filter on. To find out the lens diameter check on the back of the lens hood, or on the lens itself. It’s often written with a diameter symbol so it would look like this  ⌀72 for a 72mm diameter lens. “Wide” versions of polarizers are thinner (and more expensive) so they don’t result in vignetting of the image when placed on wide angle lenses. Buy a circular not a linear polarizer. Linear polarizers can lead to autofocus problems with …